RE: Some Grow---Some Don't

Hi
Bill, I have found that heat is a big contributing factor to the performance of
some plants. If one traces the varieties back to the species you will
discover that some just can't take the heat. They seem to do very well for
about 3 years but when the clump becomes large and the pant is looking good
something happens and the next season the plant is sick. An autopsy of the
plant shows that the roots have become hollow and most of them are gone.
You will find a red thread running through the root. It goes into the
crown and there you will find dry rot. Most of the time the plant is a
complete loss. One clue to watch for is that tells you this is happening
is the plant has fewer flower scapes. Fewer scapes this year means often
means trouble next spring. The sooner the plant is taken up and cleaned
the more chance of saving some of it.

Clyde
raises some good points here. What happened last season may be the culprit as
well. Shading out by a larger plant would certainly result in a stunted,
poorly grown plant. Likewise tree roots robbing water and nutrients all
season. Think back to last year---Are you sure that nothing like this might be
the cause for this year's poor performance?

.............Bill Meyer

I
don't think it is for lack of water. Maybe too much water on some? Not for
lack of fertilizer in my garden, but once again, perhaps too much?
My tentative answer is that it has something to do in part with light.
What the other part is, I know not. Cold temps? Hot temps?

I am
sure that some of you have areas of your garden that you sorta let the
plants fend for themselves.(Sorry to make plants sound like humans!) AND
they flourish! In my case it is ornamental grasses. I never
fertilize them and only water occasionally--they flourish.

What
we might do is to list the poor but once great ones.Ones that are not
near maples and such, but ones growing in what we always considered
"ideal" conditions.